“Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court would give him ample opportunity to weaken all independent agencies working within their Congressional mandate to protect the public, and thereby leave us all much more vulnerable to predatory practices as well as to actions that put the stability of the entire financial system at risk. We urge you to oppose his nomination.”
The OCC proposal would dramatically limit the CRA’s effectiveness by distilling the complexity of the different credit needs of varied American communities to one numerical ratio and quantitative benchmarks, and would reduce public participation in the process that is fundamental to moving banks towards greater responsiveness to the needs of diverse customers and communities.
With regard to student lending, just as in other areas, instead of holding harmful actors accountable, Mulvaney is suppressing exposure of wrongdoing, and undercutting enforcement of the law. AFR thanks Mr. Frotman, and his colleagues, for their good work, and deplores these changes.
“The Proposed Rule is a brazen attempt to dismantle more than 20 years of borrowers’ rights to a defense to repayment on their loans when schools break the law. This dismantling will do nothing more than unleash a new wave of waste, fraud and abuse. This country teaches people that education is a path to a better life. For far too many years, allowing Title IV funds to flow to institutions engaging in fraud has turned this dream into a nightmare for their students. If the Department continues down this path of dismantling the right to a borrower defense, its legacy will be condemning students to lives full of poverty, while allowing executives of predatory proprietary institutions to become wealthy at their expense.”
Kraninger’s job as CFPB director would be to defend consumers against abuse at the hands of Wall Street banks and predatory lenders, but she has shown no sign of being willing to take on this vital role. The full Senate should reject her nomination.
“In fulfilling its vital mission to protect consumers from deceptive and unfair financial practices, the Bureau needs a Director who is a champion of consumer protection and an advocate for the rights of ordinary Americans against the predations of big banks and unscrupulous market actors. Ms. Kraninger has shown no track record and given no indication in her confirmation hearing or public statements that she would defend the interests of consumers. For that reason we cannot support her nomination.”
“’Quarterly disclosures are very important. A lot can happen in six months, and it’s just not appropriate to reduce disclosures,’ said Marcus Stanley, the policy director for Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of foundations, unions and public interest groups that pushes for stronger financial regulation. ‘It’s just going to advantage insiders further.’”
“’We commend Senator Reed and his fellow senators for their leadership in protecting service members from abusive predatory lenders. Financial distress continues to be a leading factor that contributes to a lack of combat readiness and family stability for our men and women in uniform,’ said José Alcoff, payday campaign manager at Americans for Financial Reform. ‘Families and service members rely on the Consumer Bureau to ensure lenders comply with the law, and are caught if they target service members with debt trap loans.’”
The de minimis exemption is a critical element of the swap dealer rule, as it determines which swap dealers will actually be designated as regulated swap dealers and subject to formal dealer oversight. This CFTC proposal addresses a wide range of issues surrounding this exemption.